International Legal Principles for Establishing the Jurisdiction of States in Cyberspace

Abstract

The paper analyzes the principles of state jurisdiction in international law and the features of their application in cyberspace. The formation of cyberspace, the uniqueness of which is expressed in its global, transborder nature, allowing users to interact across state borders, in the interconnection of information systems, in the presence of intangible components and the variability of jurisdictions, has given rise to the question of international legal regulation of relations arising when using cyberspace. The most common approach is that the rules of international law are applied in order to regulate relations related to the use of cyberspace. In this regard, the jurisdiction of states in relation to cyberspace is based on the principles of jurisdiction identified in international law: the territorial principle, including the principle of active and passive territoriality, the doctrine of consequences; national principle, including the principle of active and passive nationality; protective principle, universal principle. As a result of the analysis of doctrine and international acts, namely the reports of the Group of Governmental Experts on Advances in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security in 2013, 2015, 2021, resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Computer Crime Convention of 2001, negotiations documents for the draft international convention on combating the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes being developed within the UN, it was concluded that the principle of territoriality remains the main principle on the basis of which states establish jurisdiction in cyberspace. At the same time, the specific content of the principle of territoriality and other principles for establishing the jurisdiction of states in cyberspace is still being formed.